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By ISAAC LIRI
PAPUA New Guinea Kumuls coach Michael Marum says he will consider all top level rugby league players in the Australian National Rugby League, the English Super League and the Q-Cup for spots in his World Cup squad.

With Port Moresby to host three World Cup matches for the first time against Wales (Oct 28), Ireland (Nov 5) and USA (Nov 12), several high profile players have already declared their availability for PNG.

Marum said he had no problem having NRL experienced players such as Cronulla Sharks hooker Segeyaro and Souths Sydney Rabbitohs back Alex Johnston in the Kumuls after the pair came out in the Australian media this month offering to play for PNG.
North Queensland Cowboys hooker/half Ray Thompson, who is set to retire at the end of the year has also put his hand up for a World Cup spot.

“Segeyaro and Johnston are both NRL experienced players. There are both playing in a level higher than the Hunters players and we all know that getting to that level is not easy,” Marum said.

“If there are both available for selection, their inclusion would boost our performance at the World Cup.
“Playing at home doesn’t mean that we will have it easy against Wales, Ireland and the USA because they will bring quality sides with some NRL talent.

“So whoever is fit and available and is playing well at the top level competitions, we will consider them, because we want the best for the country,” Marum said.
Nene Macdonald (St George Illawarra Dragons) and Kato Ottio (Canberra Raiders) are expected to be considered if fit and healthy.

Rod Griffin and Rhyse Martin (Canterbury Bulldogs) who played for PNG in the Pacific test against the Cook Islands earlier this year are also in the running.
Marum said the selectors would also consider players Europe with England-based Mark Mexico, Garry Lo, Jason Tali, Paul Aiton and Jessie Joe Nandye to come under consideration.

The latest player to be eligible to play for PNG is Cowboys squad member and Townsville Blackhawks five-eighth Kyle Laybutt.

Kumul selectors have already begun their task monitoring players to finalise a train-on squad that will be used for selection.
“With 73 days to go before the World Cup we are on track with our preparations making sure all the small things are sorted out for the World Cup, the PM’s 13 and the Tri-Series in Fiji,” Marum added

Meanwhile Marum said the PM’s 13 team for this year in Sept 23 might draw in players from the Digicel Cup to take up spots due to the Hunters focus on the Q-Cup finals.

By ISAAC LIRI
THE Papua New Guinea women’s rugby league team now have a name, the Orchids, which was officially announced yesterday in Port Moresby.
The event saw the PNG Rugby Football League release its 30-member squad for the Women’s Rugby League World Cup which will be staged in Sydney in November.
The women’s national team logo was unveiled while the naming rights sponsor, Oil Search, was formally announced.

PNGRFL chairman Sandis Tsaka said the process that was undertaken by the league to find a new name and brand for the women’s national team was a testament to the importance the league had placed on the women’s game.

He said the name Orchids was reflective of the country’s unique flora and fauna.
Tsaka said he was proud because it was an important first step PNG women’s rugby league was taking and they could now consider themselves a member of the international rugby league community.

Although the PNG women’s team have yet to play a match, they will get that opportunity before the World Cup when the Jillaroos, Australia’s national women’s team, travel up with their Prime Minister’s 13 for the annual fixture at the end of the month.
“The national women’s rugby league has not had a formal name and in fact have yet to play an international match,” Tsaka said.

“The name of the national team was approved by the PNGRFL board in March this year.
“The board decided to find a named that was indigenous to PNG and reflected on the national diversity,” Tsaka said

The PNG Orchids 30-member squad will now going into training for the Prime Minister’s 13 curtain raiser on Sept 23 and then the Women’s World Cup (Nov 16-Dec 2).
2017 Rugby League World Cup chief executive Andrew Hill confirmed that the Jillaroos would play the Orchids as the curtain raiser to the PMs’ 13 fixture at the National Football Stadium.

Orchids naming rights sponsor Oil Search Limited was represented by managing director Peter Botten who said his company which has its roots in the country was proud of being associated with the country’s number one sport as well as being part of the women’s game.
“We are proud to sponsor PNG’s national sport through direct sponsorship and also through the National Football Stadium,” Botten said.

Representing the Papua New Guinea womenfolk during the event Mrs Lynda Babao-O’Neill, wife of Prime Minister Peter O’Neill officially unveiled the PNG Orchids logo.
She congratulated the Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League for their efforts in developing and promoting the women’s game.

*** Statement from the People’s National Congress, General Secretary, Mr. Joseph Kup. ***

“The 2017 National Elections are a time for the people of Papua New Guinea to decide who is the best equipped and most capable leader for their province or district.

“The people of Papua New Guinea deserve correct and factual information to make informed decisions before going to vote on the 24th of June.

“It is not fair or right that during this election campaign, our people have been bombarded with numerous lies, false stories, and claims of pending court cases.

“During these past five weeks of campaigning, I have seen the increasing number of personal attacks and the increased number of fake stories appearing on social media.

“In some cases, this has been the lowest forms of gutter politics used to try and discredit contesting candidates and sitting members.

“This simply disgusts me, and it is not becoming of potential candidates or sitting MP’s to behave in this fashion.”

“I am placing a call out to all party Presidents, General Secretaries, party executives, sitting members, and candidates, to be very mindful of your actions during these last three weeks of campaigning.

“I have extended the same sentiment to all PNC sitting members and candidates.

“Our Party Leader, Hon. Peter O’Neill and I will not tolerate any low-level gutter politics within the PNC. We will win on our delivery and merit.

“I ask that all candidates focus on your policies, what you have achieved, what you want to deliver, and the strategies you will employ for the people within your province or district.”

“The people and supporters of PNG are bright and intelligent, and they know when they are being deceived. I ask you to trust in your campaigning abilities, and continue to deliver your message.”

“You will not see the PNC behave in any other manner than professional and providing quality leadership credentials. We look forward to a fair and challenging last three weeks of campaigning with the respect that all parties deserve.”

***Meeting to Discuss Social Media***

Papua New Guinea is among Pacific Island countries that will develop a policy regarding the impact of social media on the public service when the next Pacific Public Service Commissioners’ Conference convenes in Noumea, New Caledonia, next year.

“So the theme of the conference in 2018 is going to be around open and transparent government and leadership, but we will be looking at specific issues like social media and its impact on transparency and the role of government,” Personnel Management Secretary John Kali said yesterday.

Mr Kali said social media, like Facebook, was influential, and the idea was for the public servants to develop values and ethics as guides for them to be responsible in their conduct when dealing with social media.

“We are trying to tell public servants that these values are important in your conduct; conduct is about decision making, so the decision that I make in terms of engaging in social media really depends on my value.

“If I have weak or no values, I’m going to engage in anything, but if I have strong ethical values, I exercise honesty, integrity, accountability, respect, transparency and wisdom,” Mr Kali said.

His counterpart, Vaosa Epa, who is the head of the Public Service Commission of Samoa, reiterated similar challenges the public service in other Pacific island countries faced.

Both acknowledged that social media, including Facebook, could misrepresent the public organisation or government’s stance on issues, and could have drastic negative impacts on other people, waste working hours and adds to unnecessary cost, and the conference next year is aimed at finding ways to address these issues for effective service delivery.

Mr Kali said the conference will also discuss on how the public can be engaged in influencing government policy development among other issues, like gender at the workplace.

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THE PNG Government is warning business houses, critical infrastructure, system operators and the public to take measures necessary to protect their computer systems and other devices following global cyber-attack.
The attack hit more than 100,000 computer systems around the world, causing havoc among users.
The virus known as Ransomware, also known as Wanna Decryptor or WannaCry, has caused computers around the world to encrypt files
and locks up files, demands payment and prevents further access.
Department of Communication and Information acting secretary Paulias Korni said the National Information and Communication Technology Authority (Nicta) and the department with support from the International Telecommunication Union have commenced work on developing PNG’s National Cyber Security Strategy that should pave way for a nationally coordinated approach in responding to such attacks.
He said that a survey questionnaire on cyber security would be posted on the Nicta website and hardcopies could be collected from Nicta the head office in Hohola, seeking views on key issues to be addressed in PNG’s national cyber security strategy.
According to sources: “Ransomware is a programme that gets into your computer, either by clicking on the wrong thing or downloading the wrong thing, and then it holds something you need to ransom.
“In the case of WannaCry, the programme encrypts your files and demands payment in bitcoin in order to regain access .”
According to further reports, Ransomware attack has spread to at least eight Asian nations, a dozen countries in Europe, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates and Argentina and is likely to spread around the globe.
Researchers have advised users to be more careful when opening their personal computers and not to open emails, links or attachments that look suspicious and to further refrain from sending chain emails.

US embassies could ask visa applicants for passwords to their own social media accounts in future background checks, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said Tuesday.

Kelly said the move could come as part of the effort to toughen vetting of visitors to screen out people who could pose a security threat.

He said it was one of the things under consideration especially for visitors from seven Muslim majority countries with very weak background screening of their own — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

“We’re looking at some enhanced or some additional screening,” Kelly told a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee. “We may want to get on their social media, with passwords,” he said.

“It’s very hard to truly vet these people in these countries, the seven countries… But if they come in, we want to say, what websites do they visit, and give us your passwords. So we can see what they do on the internet.”

“If they don’t want to cooperate, then they don’t come in” to the United States, he said.

Kelly stressed that no decision had been made on this, but said tighter screening was definitely in the future, even if it means longer delays for awarding US visas to visitors.

“These are the things we are thinking about,” he said.

“But over there we can ask them for this kind of information and if they truly want to come to America, then they will cooperate. If not, next in line.”

The seven countries were targeted in president Donald Trump’s January 27 immigrant and refugee ban order, which has sense been at least temporarily blocked under court order.

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More than 1.2 million people are expected to have access to the internet at the conclusion of the World Bank rural communications project rollout in August.

The World Bank yesterday gave an overview of the project and its progressive support of the information and communication technology sector in the country.

“The rural communications project will improve access to telecommunications infrastructure and services in rural and remote areas of PNG,” it said.

“The project will provide technical assistance to the National Information and Communications Technology Authority (Nicta) to address emerging regulatory challenges and to strengthen the competitiveness of the telecommunications market and to the Department of Communication and Information to strengthen ICT policy development.

“It will help establish a universal access and service regime and associated fund to develop regulations and operating procedures.

“Further, the project will finance two UAS demonstration projects using competitively-bid one-time capital subsidies to stimulate extension of ICT services to unserved and under-served areas of the country.”

The World Bank had been actively involved in the sector since 2008, advising governments on telecommunications issues including the liberalisation of the mobile market.